With just three weeks to go until the release of the latest Anna Scavolini mystery, The Reckoning, what better time to check out this exclusive sneak peek, consisting of the prologue and first two chapters?

Here’s a small snippet to whet your appetite:

Spinning around, she found herself staring into two piercing eyes, drilling into her through the narrow slit of a balaclava. She only managed to let out a brief, frightened squeak before a hand clamped over her mouth.

The figure flung her backwards onto the bed, straddling her before she had time to recover. With his weight bearing down on her midriff, he continued to cover her mouth, the force of his hand pressing the inside of her upper lip into her teeth. Her nostrils flared. She tasted the metallic tang of blood. He leaned in close, their noses almost touching, his eyes glinting in the half-light from the bedside lamp.

A powerless scream rose up from her diaphragm and escaped through her nose in a near-silent exhalation of air.

Seconds later, his fist connected with the side of her head, and her vision exploded in a kaleidoscope of stars.